His Holiness The Dalai Llama

At the time these pictures were taken I had no real idea who His Holiness The Dalai Llama was/is!  Our Host, Dr. Russell Barber had told me he was a special Being/Guest and as Russ was great at understatement, I simply took his word for it.  When Russ was able to get His Holiness as a guest on "The First Estate" Russ invited me to meet him and greet him in the traditional way of handing him a scarf.  The rule was not to have physical contact with His Holiness.. the handlers pointed out.  This was the early 1980's when I was Program Director at WNBC-TV in New York, and either the first or 2nd time The Dalai Llama had been to the United States.  The magic of meeting him was palatable however it was years later before I learned that the fact that His Holiness accepted the scarf but then took my hand and shook it was very significant. 
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When Matt Kahn was at my home for a session, early on in Matt's career, when he saw the pictures (above) Matt said, ',,,you do know he took your hand in order to release you from your vows of poverty in past lifetimes.'  No, I didn't but it was pretty cool to hear.  I am eternally grateful to Russ Barber for setting in motion the opportunity, Matt Kahn for adding to the depth of the meaning of the meeting, my mother, Blanche Feder Cohen, for holding these pictures for me, and of course His Holiness The Dalai Llama for this wonderful meeting and all he does to make this world a better place.  I AM Grateful.